Unbelievable. (sigh) Doing a lot to do away with the negative perception of the Orthodox that I mentioned above. I've said all I have to say on the matter and I stand by it. I will not be returning to this forum.

Unbelievable. (sigh) Doing a lot to do away with the negative perception of the Orthodox that I mentioned above. I've said all I have to say on the matter and I stand by it. I will not be returning to this forum.

Anyway, Pax Vobiscum, for those of you who actually care.

Truely a pity (cough) you won't be returning..

« Last Edit: June 13, 2008, 11:06:41 PM by Heracleides »

Logged

"And having found Heracleides there again, we instructed him to proclaim the Gospel of God..." ~Acts of Barnabas

Unbelievable. (sigh) Doing a lot to do away with the negative perception of the Orthodox that I mentioned above. I've said all I have to say on the matter and I stand by it. I will not be returning to this forum.

That's your prerogative, of course. I just hope that if you do decide to return, I won't be for the purpose of trolling.

I want to thank Father Chris, Deacon Anastasios, Robert, OzGeorge, Cleveland, Username, and all the other Mods here for the kindness and patience with which they've hosted the lot of us - Catholics and Orthodox - in our time of need for a haven that allowed us to reminisce, vent, and seriously examine the issues that exist in an environment (such as CAF) that is ill-equipped or prepared to deal with the kind of diversity that we represented. This thread has spun off several children, including the spirited one-on-one debate between Apotheoun and Ronyodish (whom I btw would never categorize as "latinized"; I know latinized Chaldeans and Rony is not one, by any means).

Hopefully, these are the beginnings of what Joe suggested - that we all "get on with it" (I know, it's not an exact quote, but I'm too lazy to go look it up right now - and you all get the drift). OC.net, ByzCath, and Peter's fledgling venture can all benefit from us doing so. Each is a bit different and some will find one a better fit than others for their style and the kind of interaction they are seeking. Regardless of where each of us ends up, we need to remember one another and the history we share.

Whether banned from CAF or still tolerated there, we truly were a community as Joe said. I haven't engaged in much argumentation in recent years, but there are those who can still recollect a good battle or two with me in times past, I suspect (Bob/Orthodoc, where are you?). But, there are few among those who posted at CAF whom I would not greet with a warm and sincere embrace were we to meet in real life. Thanks to all who shared their knowledge with me and allowed me to share mine with them, to those who shared of themselves personally, to those whose witness to their faith was inspiring, to the holy. the feisty, the humble, the funny, the intellectual, to all of you. (No swansong this - lest it sound that way to anyone; I plan to post for some years to come, here and elsewhere - as long as information-mongering remains in style :p .)

I do ask foregiveness of any of you whom I have offended and I forgive any by whom I have allowed myself to be offended.

And, in that regard, I particularly ask foregiveness of young holdencaulfield; he was right to feel harshly judged and I was wrong to have done so. I'm put in mind of one of our number (who will hopefully, if he's reading here, not be embarressed by what I'm about to say). The early CAF crowd will recollect when Andre/MagicSilence came among us as a Maronite by heritage but totally unfamiliar with the faith of his ancestors. His early postings left many of us shaking our heads. Despite the sometimes lack of patience with which we dealt with him, Andre matured into a well-informed Eastern Christian. Time and exposure to information has a habit of achieving that and we sometimes forget that each of us was once young, not as well-formed in our faith as we might be, and rarely conscious of how much room there was to grow - growing that we achieved in spite of both ourselves and the overly-impatient oldsters surrounding us. In looking over some of holdencaulfield's later posts at CAF, he too is beginning to make that transition and I pray for his success in doing so (as I do for young Matthew, who was once a scourge to many here, but whom someone reported has matured in the time since leaving).

Joe, Father Ambrose, Padre Ambrogio, Deacon Ed, all my old and dear friends from ByzCath, all my newer and undoubtedly younger friends from CAF (including those still managing to hang on over there), I love you as my own brothers and sisters and I pray that God grants you many years in health, happiness, and His service.

Let's use the last few days of this thread as other than a slugfest.

Neil

« Last Edit: June 14, 2008, 04:57:42 AM by Irish Melkite »

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"Not only is it unnecessary to adopt the customs of the Latin Rite to manifest one's Catholicism, it is an offense against the unity of the Church."

And may I add--"cheers" to you Neil. If anyone was undeserving of a CAF ban, it was you. You are one of the most irenic and informative posters I have ever come across. Much of the information you provided helped me immensely in my own journey.

I am pleased that you will be contributing for many years to come at Byzcath and here (God willing).

A Reminder:The Administrators and Moderators have come to the consensus that the time has come to close this thread and maintain it as a "sticky" as a permanent record of the events. The thread will be closed on Wednesday 18th June, and this is a reminder to allow those who wish to make final contributions to it to do so (please be aware though that forum rules still apply, and any posts which are irrelevant to the topic will be moved). Remember that our mission here is not to dwell on the wrongs committed to us, but instead to participate in the blessed discussion that we were enriched by before these events took place.

Thank you,The Admin/Mod Team

Logged

If you're living a happy life as a Christian, you're doing something wrong.

If you will, you can become all flame.Extra caritatem nulla salus.In order to become whole, take the "I" out of "holiness". सर्वभूतहितἌνω σχῶμεν τὰς καρδίας"Those who say religion has nothing to do with politics do not know what religion is." -- Mohandas GandhiY dduw bo'r diolch.

As for the actions of CAF which started this thread, and brought us over here, all I can say is "you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day...(Gen. 50:20).

I look forward to keeping in tough. Ooops! Touch.

MANY YEARS OC!

« Last Edit: June 17, 2008, 11:48:27 PM by ialmisry »

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Question a friend, perhaps he did not do it; but if he did anything so that he may do it no more.A hasty quarrel kindles fire,and urgent strife sheds blood.If you blow on a spark, it will glow;if you spit on it, it will be put out; and both come out of your mouth

You are invited to a neighbor's house. You go in, make yourself at home, kick off your shoes, eat their food, smoke their cigars (if you smoke), drink all their beer and you don't leave. You mock their cooking, their decor, their family and friends. Then, other people who come in, you do your level best to turn them against your hosts. You do this for a good long time. How long do you think they're going to let you stick around?

This is the situation with CAF. From what I understand, and I did poke my nose in the forum in question a couple of times and I was horrified, I saw the Church being routinely insulted, mocked and an active tendency to try to convert Catholics from their faith. These were your hosts.

This is what I saw as well. I never posted in that forum because I had the sense that I would be accosted by a bunch of proselytizers.

As for the actions of CAF which started this thread, and brought us over here, all I can say is "you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day...(Gen. 50:20).

I'm glad you said that. I was actually just thinking yesterday that CAF's closing the "Eastern Christianity" forum all at once may have been a blessing is disguise -- as compared with the alternative of replacing Joe with another moderator, then keeping everything the same at first but very slowly "tightening the noose" ...

This is what I saw as well. I never posted in that forum because I had the sense that I would be accosted by a bunch of proselytizers.

You mean, all those nasty "proselytizers" who contributed to this thread after CAF secretly banned them and explained in the pages of this thread that they in fact were not prosyletizing but simply providing answers in defense of the Orthodox Faith which the Catholic members of CAF simply had no response for? You mean those "proselytizers".Pathetic attempt at whitewashing.

Logged

If you're living a happy life as a Christian, you're doing something wrong.

You mean, all those nasty "proselytizers" who contributed to this thread after CAF secretly banned them and explained in the pages of this thread that they in fact were not prosyletizing but simply providing answers in defense of the Orthodox Faith which the Catholic members of CAF simply had no response for? You mean those "proselytizers".Pathetic attempt at whitewashing.

I used to read that forum regularly. I know what I saw. It was aggressive proselytizing, and judging from the crowing on this thread about the converts who were bagged there, my impression is confirmed.